Curtain Fall
by Blazingfyres
Summary: Danny Phantom is dead. That's the way he wants to keep it, anyway. After saving the world, Danny has no reason to play hero any longer. But leaving it up to a more relevant set of heroes is harder than it seems. When trouble hits Jump City, he has to decide if saving the world is worth the cost of losing his anonymity. PP AU: Danny didn't reveal his identity.
1. Just Thinking

_Summary: Danny Phantom is dead. At least, that's how he wants to keep it, anyway. After the peaceful resolution that came from saving the world, there is no better way to keep his story under wraps for good than to pretend that Phantom's existence has seized. But the ties between loyalty and responsibility are strained when Danny has to leave it up to a more relevant set of heroes to save the day. Now he has to decide whether he believes saving the world is worth the cost of losing his anonymity. Phantom Planet AU, where Danny didn't reveal his identity._

**A/N: Hey, guys. Another story 'cause I'm bored. I really gotta stop piling and actually finish my other ones, but you know us lazy types. Inspiration one moment, boredom the next. This story is inspired by **_**A Summer With The Titans**_**, written by TheNumberFour. They went on hiatus, so I just decided to write my own version.**

**Hope you enjoy. After Phantom Planet and Trouble in Tokyo. All canon for story and stuff, though hints of my own pairings thrown in. **

**~Blaze**

* * *

He still finds himself patrolling sometimes when the sky is clear and he finishes his chores early. It isn't often that he gets a break like this, anyway; he's constantly being hovered by his parents all the time ever since he "conveniently" took off during the chaos that ensued in the North Pole. It's only recently they decided to get rid of his curfew, let alone let him leave the house without someone chasing him down.

With a smile, Danny shoots off, lazing around the clouds, hovering over the clock tower and drinking in the small skyline below, making sure he's still invisible. He stays like this for quite a while, stargazing and losing himself in the moonlight before he finds himself landing by a big old tree on the outskirts of town. He quietly changes back, resting his head against the trunk and spreading his legs out in front of him.

It's times like these that Danny's almost glad he has given up his responsibilities.

Well… Almost.

After all, it isn't like he doesn't miss his old life. His "Glory Days", as Tucker refers to them often, were a bigger part of him, regardless of whether it's a secret or not. Even though it was another pile of stress, it was nice to know he could do something for this city. Or better yet, the world. The only reason he quit was the suffocating loads of fame. It separated him from his family and friends, and he couldn't handle that sort of pressure any longer.

He has no regrets.

Well… Almost.

"Having fun?"

Danny jumps, falling into a crouch, his eyes narrowing as they fall on -

"Sam," he breathes, stumbling to his feet. He shakes his head with a smile. It's just like him to not even recognize her voice. "I thought you were finishing up the summer reading with Tucker."

"I was. He fell asleep, so I thought I'd look for you. What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sam stretches her lips into a wide smirk, punching his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up," he snaps back. "That joke's old, and you know it."

"Calm yourself, dude. I mean no harm." She then frowns, perusing his stature. "Hey… you've grown taller."

Danny crosses his arms, his lips curling into a pout. "You're acting like you haven't seen me in months, Sam. I've been taller than you ever since 10th grade, even with your boots on."

"Whatever. I'll just get new ones for Christmas," she says with a shrug. She plops onto the ground, combing the grass between her fingers. "What are you doing out here, anyway? You only take a walk whenever you miss your old life."

"It's not that I miss it," Danny says, the words rolling out of his mouth a little too quickly. Sam sticks her tongue at him. "I was just thinking, that's all. It's been a year since everything."

"You're right," Sam says with a whistle. "Happy anniversary, Phantom Planet. You know, they should have made this a holiday. Less school for us."

"I'd take that offer any day," Danny laughs. "But time seems to move so fast. Can you believe it? It's been a year since that whole mess. A year since I saved everyone, a year since I smothered Danny Phantom, a year since - "

" - you kissed me. A year since you told me you loved me." Sam looks back at him and waggled her eyebrows, her teeth shining as she all but beams at him. "Right under this very tree, in fact. Or have you forgotten?"

"Well…"

"What I'm saying is that we all made a step forward from then. You don't have to worry about the past any longer. And I know, even if you won't admit it, that you miss using your powers. And that's okay." Sam tilts her head, and Danny feels his breath catch. "You aren't your powers. You are yourself. You are this butt kicking, ghost chasing, brilliant halfa, even without the ghosts to kick."

He's silent for a moment, his heart swelling and his chest swimming with warmth. He finally joins her on the ground and falls beside her, crossing his arms over his knees. "I didn't exactly say I loved you," he says, his voice slightly teasing. "I said I hoped you'd share every moment with me, and you said - "

"That I'm no pushover, yes, I know," she says with a small laugh. "But the underlying meaning was there."

"Fine. You win." Danny takes her hand, meeting her gaze. "You always win. Which isn't fair sometimes."

"Oh, shut up," she said. She leans in, her breath mixing with his own, her hand fisting his shirt and pulling him closer, their lips brushing, their noses bumping -

Danny's phone goes off with a loud beep, and the two of them instantly jerk apart, a faint blush tinting their cheeks. Danny fumbles with his phone before bringing it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Sorry, Danny, but couple time is over."

"MOM!" Danny yells, his neck heating up. How is it that she always knows?

"Come home soon. Your dad has some big news."

"Now?" Danny looks over at Sam. "I'm in the middle of something."

"Fine - you have until eleven."

"Love you, mom. I'll see you later."

"Bye, sweetie. Now don't you have too much fun with her, okay?"

She cuts the line before Danny can retort, and with a sigh, Danny shoves his phone back in his pocket. "We have ten minutes. If I fly, then we'll get home in less than one, so…"

"We still have time," Sam finishes, wrapping her arms around his neck. Danny blushes in response, leaning back slightly before relaxing in her hold his hands brush her waist.

"Let's try not waste it."

* * *

"A ghost hunting convention? In Jump City?"

Robin raises his eyebrows at the morning newspaper, reading in mild surprise. Starfire brings him a cup of orange juice, setting it beside his headphones.

"I heard about it last night while watching the magical box," Starfire says, pointing to the TV. "They said that ever since ghosts were proven to be real, a new branch of science pulled up that deals with afterlife phenomena. It's referred to as ectology."

"There have been contracts signed that ghosts will not be experimented with or harmed in any way under legal studies, so they pull evidence together every year to keep the interest alive," Raven puts in, her one eye cracking open from her deep meditation. "Last year it was in Amity Park, a town where most sightings were reported. This year they are handling it here instead."

"I remember that whole fiasco with Danny Phantom and the huge asteroid that was going to kill us all," Robin says with a nod. "Too bad he's disappeared. I would've liked to have met him."

"The Fenton family was really the only one that supported his disappearance," Raven says. "Ever since he left, everyone has been free of ghost trouble for over a year."

"Wow, Raven," Beast Boy says amusedly, picking through his tofu soymilk cereal. "I never took you for a ghost geek." He cowered under the glare she sent him across the room.

"What does that have to do with us, anyway?" Cyborg mutters. "We're crime fighters. Not ghost hunters. We don't need any stupid convention to make us happy."

"What's with him?" Robin asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, him?" Beast Boy slides over next to a slouching Cyborg, leaning against his metal body. "This old man's just suffering a loss because I beat him at MegaTon Race-A-Thon Three! How do you like that, sucka!"

"Anyway," Raven said, shoving the two out of the way, "we should probably patrol around. Big parties like that tend to spark up trouble, especially when it deals with topics of the unknown." Raven fiddled with her hands. "And… fine, I want to check it out."

"Called it!" Beast Boy yelled with a grin. That smile soon faded when he got clobbered by a trashcan.

"Patrolling won't be needed, everyone," Starfire giggled, flapping an envelope in the air. "We're invited!"

* * *

**Short, yes, but prologues are supposed to be short. I hope you liked it. Comment, Favorite, Follow - do whatever makes you happy.**

**~Blaze**


	2. Correct Me if I'm Wrong

**Hey guys. These chapters are going to be short. I'm kinda writing this simply because I'm in the mood to, and I haven't been much into long chapters lately. They hinder my motivation to write.**

**Well, enjoy. Review, Follow, Favorite - whatever suits your fancy! :)**

**~Blaze**

* * *

"I'm not going."

"Danny - "

"I said, _I'm not going."_

Danny looks over at Sam and Jazz - and a half asleep Tucker, who sprinted over from Jazz's call - exchanging glances with them quickly. The panic in his voice is overtaking the stubbornness, but he really wasn't in the mood to care. His mother gives him a worried look, her eyebrows creasing, but she doesn't make a move towards him.

"Please, honey, you have to understand," she begs, clasping her hands together. "This is the first time the ghost convention is being held outside of Amity Park. Sam's parents are going to Italy for the winter, and we barely managed to convince her parents to let her come with us. And you remember the last time you, her, and Tucker were at the Foley's for a sleepover."

"Mom, we seriously didn't mean to blast their garage open. And we fixed it, didn't we?" Danny curses the day Skulker was born - well, died, more like. "Wh-why not we stay here with Jazz? She's a strong adult who can take care of herself. She can be responsible for us."

"You convinced me otherwise, remember?" Jazz replies with a grin. "And besides, I want togo, too. Harvard's summer essay is on ghosts this year, and the convention might help me get some solid information in the long run."

Danny smacked his head. "So there's no way we're getting out of this?"

"Unless you want to stay with Paulina's family - "

"No. No no no no no," Sam cuts in, nudging Danny with her elbow, "that does _not_ need to happen. I'll come. Danny will go anywhere Tucker and I go."

Tucker raises his arms up in protest, taking a step back. "Hey, I still haven't agreed to - "

Sam yanks Tucker around the neck with her other arm, wearing an unconvincing grin. "He's coming."

"I'm coming," Tucker gags.

Danny stares at his friends before sighing, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fiiiine… Let's go."

"I've got the RV running and loaded!" Jack's voice echoes from the garage. "Just a few more adjustments and - "

There is a series of loud crashes, and all five in the room flinch.

" - and DONE! Pretend you didn't hear that small slip, though. Let's get to it."

"Wait - now?"

"_Now_," Sam says, carting Tucker and Danny out of the room. "Let's go, Mrs. Fenton, before they change their minds!"

Before they know it, all six of them are jam packed in the RV, with Danny crushed between the window seat and Sam - which he doesn't mind completely, but still.

"I'm sorry, Danny, but you know how much I hate that queen of all things pretty and dumb," Sam tries. He just shrugs her off, trying to be angry.

I just didn't want to go because I… well… " he fumbles for words, running a hand through his jet black hair. "I'm not ready to face my old enemy again. My ghost powers are still up and running, and I don't need another excuse to use them - especially in some unknown town."

"No worries, Danny," Tucker says, shooting him a thumbs up under Sam's and Jazz's shoulders. "I've heard Jump City has its own set of heroes. You won't need to interfere with their problems."

"I hope you're right," Danny manages with another sigh.

Only then does he notice the wisp of cold blue air slipping through his lips.

"Oh, great."

They are hitting the usual pizza joint when they see it in all of its mechanical glory - a ghost fighting RV of megaton awesomeness. Raven has to keep herself back on an invisible leash of dignity and suppression, strengthened by Beast Boy's knowing glances. He's clearly taunting her to go touch it. She gives him a nasty snarl, and he lifts his hands up on the defensive, cowering - but still smiling.

"What the heck _is _that thing?!" Cyborg shouts, his eyes lighting up. "I think I'm in love."

_Shut it, tin can. That thing is mine._ At least, that's what Raven wants to say, but she shifted uncomfortably instead, forcing her feet to walk towards the joint. "You guys can ogle all you want. I'm hungry."

"Come, Cyborg. It is rude to probe another human's belongings without permission." Starfire flies over and pulls at his metal arm, dragging him over the concrete as tears fell from his eyes.

"_But I wanna touch it!"_

As they enter, Cyborg vows to find the people who had built the car and bless them and their generations with mechanical greatness. It isn't hard to guess who - a couple wearing hazmat suits are cheerfully eating pizza together with a group of four teens sitting at a table next to theirs. The girl with auburn hair has her face in a book, a girl dressed in purple talking non stop with a boy wearing a red cap, the last kid staring out the window with a deep frown.

"Should we… go talk to them or…" Cyborg is already brushing passed Beast Boy before he could finish his sentence, already pouncing on the two adults. "You wouldn't happen to be the ones driving that wonderful beauty parked outside, would you?" He asks, his eyes twinkling.

The large man's grin doubles in size, if even possible. "Hey, Maddie!" He said, clapping a hand on Cyborg's shoulder. "This great young man has an appreciation for our Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle!"

Beast Boy smacks a hand against his head. "Great. Cyborg's been converted." He turns to Robin and Starfire, who were both wearing similar expressions to his.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Robin says, adjusting his mask, "but I'm pretty sure I've seen those two in the papers before."

"Jack and Maddie Fenton," Raven replies almost instantly. "They are famous ghost hunters from Amity Park. They've had the most interaction and readings on the Ghost Boy before he vanished out of radar. They're the most active at this point, above the Guys in White."

"Ghost Geeeeek," Beast Boy teases. He steps past her before she can pound him again.

"Whoa, you're green," the red capped kid says, his eyes widening as he stared at the shapeshifter. "You must be one heck of a veggie eater."

Beast Boy smiles in response, scratching his head sheepishly. "Well, I really don't eat any sort of meat. It goes against my morals."

The kid turns to the girl next to him. "See, Sam? That's what happens if you're an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian." The girl slaps his head in response.

"Don't be rude," Sam growls, her violet eyes blazing. She then looks up at Beast Boy with a smile. "It's nice to know someone else that can appreciate my diet."

"Tofu Teriyaki?" Beast Boy tries, raising a fist. The girl grins and meets his knuckles with a hard punch.

"The best."

"Hey…" The auburn haired girl looks up from her book, a flicker of recognition running through her eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but… you guys wouldn't happen to be the Teen Titans, would you?"

"The ones and onlys," Beast Boy says, pointing a thumb at himself, an arrogant smirk peeling his lips. Raven just shakes her head, but she can't hide her smile.

Robin steps up first with a small grin of his own. "I'm Robin. This is Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven… and Cyborg - the one with your… parents?"

"Just mine and Danny's," the girl replies, nodding to the boy in the corner who gave a half-hearted wave. "I'm Jazz. That's Sam and Tucker, Danny's best friends."

"Nice to meet you," Danny says quietly before turning back towards the window again.

"Don't mind him," Sam says, shooting a glare at Danny. "Mr. Party Pooper doesn't want to be here. We've been invited to a ghost convention, and he isn't all excited about it."

"Hey!" He protests. "That isn't the whole part of the problem. I just didn't get enough - " he yawns, " - sleep because of some stupid kid in green who thinks attacking in the middle of the night is perfectly _normal_."

"Whatever," Jazz says quickly. "So is it true that you guys are superhuman? I've read biographies, but you can only get so much information."

"Well, I'm just human," Robin says. "Starfire and Raven aren't from this planet, and Cyborg and Beast Boy got their strengths along the way." He shrugs. "Well, your parents don't seem to be done talking to Cyborg… How about we take you to the Titan's Tower on the outskirts of the city? It's a pretty nice view."

"Of course!" Jazz exclaims, her eyes sparkling. "Of course we'd love to come! Oh, but…" she makes a sideways glance to her parents. "The ghost convention's in a few days, and we really have to find a place to stay for the night."

"That's fine," Starfire says. "You can stay with us. We've also been invited to the convention for ghosts!"

"For ghost _hunters_," Raven corrects under her breath. "Not ghosts. And shut your mouth before I blind you, Beast Boy."

"Got it," he says, choking on his sentence.

"So it's settled," Danny confirms, raising his eyebrows. "We're… Staying with you guys?"

"I guess," Raven shrugs.

* * *

**Sorry for the horrible cut off, but I DON'T CARE**

**~Blaze**


	3. Miracles Never Happen Except Sometimes

**Hi I'm back feed your hungry souls on this piece of awesomeness (not really)**

**Thanks for the reviews, guys. I really appreciate it.**

**~Blaze**

* * *

Danny is asleep for only about an hour before he feels his ghost sense go off. With an exasperated breath he throws his covers off, phasing out of his room and outside of the tower.

"Typical," he says, rolling his eyes. "Ghost trouble in the middle of nowhere. And Sam was asking why I didn't want to come in the first place."

He quickly turns invisible before flying to the roof. He spends a moment taking in the skyline before something catches his eye… something large and metal making for the tower. Squinting, Danny cautiously makes his way closer -

\- and bites back a yelp.

Skulker seems a lot scarier than he used to be, his cold metal exterior glinting a dark, dark silver in the moonlight. His rocket launchers were so huge they aren't hidden in his shoulders anymore, instead sitting on his back, locked and loaded and ready to go. His flaming hair is much more controlled, but the flame is so hot even Danny can feel it's heat a few yards behind him. Thankfully, though, Skulker isn't wearing his ectoplasmic energy seeking goggles. He probably isn't expecting Danny to be out here. Danny watches as Skulker shoots glances in all directions before diving straight through the roof of the Titan tower, his rocket launchers surprisingly silent. With a frown, Danny follows, his eyes trained on the faint glow of the intangible suit of armor.

They keep going down for about a minute before Skulker stops. And when Danny's eyes adjusted to the dim light, he covers a gasp. Hundreds and hundreds of piles of cabinets and files fill the entire room, covering nearly the entire floor. It seems like a mess, but Danny soon realizes it's just an untidy form of organizing. Files of thugs and misfits are clumped in one pile, the names of allies in another, conspiracies shoved in individual cabinets, bulletin boards filled with lines and pins and faces and maps. It's a maze of information, and Danny has a feeling that it's all of Robin's life work.

"Boy Genius would suit him better than Boy Wonder any day," Danny mutters under his breath. "But what does Skulker want from down here?"

Danny lands quietly on his feet, his attention finally back on Skulker, but then he slips on a file and bumps into a bunch of filing cabinets. There was a terrible crash and Danny's stomach flips, and he looks up at the metal ghost with a grimace. _Crap._

Skulker freezes, whirling over towards the fallen junk with blazing eyes. "WHO'S THERE?" He bellows, his head whirring as he turned in every direction.

Danny feels his luck slowly shrinking, and he crawls backwards, hoping for something, anything to happen -

"_I should be asking you that question."_

A blur of red and yellow comes out of nowhere. Robin slams his foot against Skulker's head with a clang of hollow metal, sending him flying against a wall. With a terrible groan, Skulker skids, pieces of cement falling to his feet.

"And one point for bird boy," Danny mutters.

Skulker bares his teeth at Robin, a sneer curling on his face. "Meddling whelp," he growls, raising his fist. "My orders were to not put you on my wall, so I'll leave you be for now. But I will be back for your pellets, scum!"

With that epic shout out, Skulker's arm began to beep - and he looks down at it with a sigh. He mumbles something about a gorilla and a PDA before he phases through the wall and out of sight.

Robin is still standing there, staring at the crack in the wall. And then suddenly, he turns his head towards Danny, instantly locking eyes with him. Danny doesn't breathe. He _can't_ breathe. For a second everything stops - his brain, his body, his powers, and Robin's ever growing frown - oh God, oh God -

\- before Danny realizes that Robin is staring straight _through_ him. He's still invisible.

_Duh._

Rolling his eyes, Danny flies out of there, making sure Robin's eyes aren't following him. As he leaves, though, his brain is ridden with questions. Why was Skulker here? He mentioned orders… wait, did that mean Vlad's back?! Or was it someone else? Robin obviously saw Danny mess up his cabinets. Did he actually see him?

He goes back to his room, his eyes suddenly feeling heavier from all the questions. But as he's about to change back, Danny notices it.

A surveillance camera, right in his room.

"Craaaap," he groans, slapping his head. "Of course, life has to make it so much harder than it needs to be."

* * *

It's obvious to Sam that something is up that morning when Robin and Danny are the only ones who didn't come for breakfast. She was an idiot for not noticing when she found Danny in a tangled mess of blankets and pajamas on the floor nowhere near his bed. And since she knows that Robin always woke up early to train in the morning, she should have known as soon as she didn't hear or see him after getting dressed that something was clearly wrong.

They are all awake by ten, Beast Boy and Cyborg at it with the video games, Raven floating cross-legged with a book in her hands, Starfire burning oatmeal to a crisp. (Honestly, how is all of this normal?) Jazz and Tucker are on dish duty, while Jack and Maddie have gone to one of the lower floors to play around with a makeshift lab that Cyborg had generously offered them.

"Where are Danny and Robin?" Jazz asks, casually dumping the disintegrated oatmeal into the sink while Starfire wasn't looking. "I was sure they both went to bed early last night."

As if on cue, both of them stumble in, Danny's eyes heavy with dark rings, Robin looking slightly paler than usual. Tucker and Sam exchange looks.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauties," Cyborg calls, his concentration somehow still trained on the TV.

Beast Boy stretches his neck over the couch, his ears perking up to the sound of the sliding door. "Why are you guys up so late?" He asked.

"Bad dream," the two of them say in unison.

They give each other bewildered looks - Robin's suspicious glare, Danny's defensive scowl - before they both sit down for breakfast. Robin grabs a pair of headphones and blasts heavy music on full volume, while Danny pours some cold milk and cereal, straightening out his shirt.

Tucker whistles. "Someone's been up all night. And I mean plural someones."

"You two can handle it," Jazz mutters. "I've spent my entire night writing a draft for my psychology thesis. I'm too tired to deal with people's emotions."

Sam rolls her eyes in response, abandoning her bowl in the sink and sitting down beside Danny. "Spill it, or you'll be sorry," she whispers, putting a hand on Danny's shoulder. He twitches, but his expression didn't change.

"It's nothing. Just some ghost trouble again, okay? No big deal." Danny starts swirling his spoon in his bowl faster, though. Danny's never great at lying - it's a miracle his parents are idiots, or his little secret would've been spilled ages ago.

"Uhh, dude? People around here don't get ghost trouble. This is probably where it starts becoming a big deal." There's barely even a sign of sympathy on Tucker's face as he speaks. "Sam's ten seconds away from punching you, so you'd better hurry up."

It was really the perfect situation. Danny has to keep his voice down so as to not raise suspicion, and therefore can't yell at Sam or Tucker for being too annoying. He can't just walk out, either, since the place was rigged with cameras and Danny wouldn't be able to just phase out of anywhere. So finally Danny sighs, taking one last look around to make sure no one is listening before sighing.

"My ghost sense went off in the middle of the night, so I went to check it out. And it was Skulker."

"Wow." Sam's eyes went wide. "We haven't seen him since the asteroid thing."

"That's not all," Danny said, staring at the ground. "He's got upgrades. Major, major upgrades. Only one person can play around with body armor like that. Take a guess."

"Masters?!" Tucker exclaims. "I thought he flew himself into the moon's orbit! Since when did he - "

"I don't know," Danny says, shaking his head. "Anyway, I didn't fight Skulker; I just followed him around, hoping I could find any clues. We reached some sort of archive section down below the tower until Robin came out of nowhere and sent him flying." Danny swallows, looking over at Boy Wonder, who's chewing thoughtfully on a protein bar. "I don't think he saw me, but I messed up and ran into a huge tower of files that spilled all over the place. I think he was up all night sorting through them."

"You're a walking spirit of destruction," Sam says, slapping her head. "Literally."

"All I know is Vlad's up to something again. I thought I was done, you know? I thought it was over, that I wouldn't have to deal with him again - "

"We'll get through this," Sam soothes.

Tucker claps Danny's back. "We always do, don't we? Don't forget, Danny. You have us. And the Titans will be there as well to be your backup, right?"

"Right." Danny doesn't sound convinced, but at least he's smiling now. "Thanks, guys."

"Wait a sec..." Tucker scratches his head. "How did you manage to go ghost without getting caught? This place is booby trapped with cameras."

Danny gives him a tired grin. "What do you think I spent the night doing? I phased into the system and looped the videos. Cyborg has too many alarms in his system. It's lucky I didn't set anything off. Thanks to Technus, ghost power hacking has become insanely easier, if only slightly."

"Who's Technus? And what do you mean by ghost hacking?"

The three of them freeze, whirling their heads at Beast Boy and Raven, who are both standing with their arms crossed and curious question marks all over their faces. Tucker is the first to recover.

"Techus is a ghost that we know," he says quickly. "He, I, uh..."

He looks over at Sam for support. "Oh! Um, ghost hacking means... It's a game! Right, uh, Ghost Hacking 3D or - something - " Sam tried.

"And Technus is one of the bosses in it!" Danny finishes.

There is silence. Sam can officially conclude that they _all _sucked at lying. It would be a miracle if even one of them bought that.

"Sounds cool!" Beast Boy says excitedly. "Can I play?"

Well, there's the miracle they were waiting for.


	4. Odd Coincidences

**Shite sorry guys I totally forgot about this story waaaaaaah**

**Enjoy this chapter. It's a bit messy and not read over, but whatever. Thanks! ;)**

**~Blaze**

* * *

It's that very day that the Teen Titans found themselves in the middle of a ghost battle.

They were all at the mall, the boys chilling at the food court while Starfire dragged Raven and Sam shopping against their will, the adults having chased down an equipment sale at a local Science Emporium a block down. Tucker and Cyborg had started an all out All-You-Can-Eat-Meat War, and BeastBoy had begun to play on his portable gaming system. Having nothing better to do, Robin had started a conversation about ghosts with Danny.

"Ghosts? Me? Naaaw," Danny says nervously, his blue eyes shifting from him to Tucker every five seconds. "I've had pretty bad experiences, so I tend to stay away from, uh, my parent's lab. There was this one time a ghost that only kids could see began to torment me and my sister. I've kind of been put off ever since."

"But you have encountered them before, right?" Robin asks. "What are they like?"

Danny swallows several times. "W-we haven't seen ghost attacks since the big asteroid nearly crashed into Earth, but um... Well, they tend to make the atmosphere in a room colder whenever they are around. And they always have this glowing green aura. Some have special powers - I know this one ghost that could hypnotize mass populations with music, and there was this big bulky metal dude who flew around the city and tried to turn everyone into animal skins on his wall - "

"Hold on." Robin slams a hand on to the table, making Danny flinch. "Tell me about this metal guy."

Danny coughs. He wasn't intending on slipping about Skulker, but there is no turning back. "He's a, um, ghost that's actually a midget in a can of armor. He's really stupid, too - I-I mean, that's what my parents say, anyway. He gets upgrades by some mysterious benefactor, and he was always shouting about - "

Danny stops abruptly, clearing his throat. Robin raises an eyebrow. "Shouting about what?" He asks.

"...kidnapping the ghost boy," Danny says quietly. "Look, my family doesn't really talk about this because they never trusted him and - "

"Are you talking about Danny Phantom?"

Danny nods, choosing his words carefully. "Y-yeah. Phantom. My parents have never, ever trusted him, even if he did save the world. Honestly, not many people have - he's been caught responsible for burglarizing and kidnapping the mayor. Even though there is no proof he did it willingly," he adds quickly, "Amity Park never really had a consistent opinion on him."

Robin frowns. "Not to mention he also disappeared last year, which was when all of the ghosts stopped coming to the real world... Odd coincidence..."

"Wh-why the sudden interest in Skul - the robot ghost, anyway?" Danny asks. He's sweating now, but Robin seems too preoccupied to notice.

"Nothing. I came across a ghost like that one before, that's all." Robin looks at Danny. "It's funny how you share the same first name as Danny Phantom. Another odd coincidence, huh... What do you think of him, anyway?"

Danny shrugs. "He saved my family and friends enough times for me to trust him. It's not like that matters, though. He's been gone for a while. And besides, I highly doubt there will be any more ghost attacks after - "

"EEEEEEEK! GHOOOSTS!"

"... And I just jinxed myself, didn't I." Danny smacks his hand against his head, shutting his eyes tight. Robin leapt onto the table, further startling Danny.

"Titans, GO!" He shouts, pointing at the incoming -

"I AM TECHNUS! MASTER OF ALL THINGS BEEPING! FEAR MY TECHNOLOGICAL WRATH, EARTHLINGS!"

"Ohh, great," Cyborg says, dropping his food. "Sorry, Tucker. Got a mall to save."

"Don't worry. I'm used to it," Tucker replies under his breath. He chucks his fork into the trash can with a frown.

Robin motions once, and both Cyborg and Beast Boy leap into action, charging ahead. But before Cyborg can go any further, Danny grabs his arm, latching onto it as tightly as he can.

"Stay back!" Danny yells, shutting his eyes tightly. "He can manipulate anything electronic. He'll literally take over your body!"

Cyborg sets Danny down, giving him a grin and a thumbs up. "Thanks for the warning, little man. May as well upgrade that virus repelling program right now." He opens up a keyboard device in his arm, his fingers flying over the buttons before he sprints and catches up to the other two Titans.

"You handled that well," Tucker said, joining Danny in the middle of the chaos. "I mean, you didn't blindly jump into action. Good call - for once."

Everyone is screaming and dashing for cover in stores and clothing racks. Danny just nudges Tucker in the arm.

"Shut up."

Meanwhile, Robin is already after Technus, clicking his staff and skewering the ghost. Instead, the staff goes straight through, the ghost opting to turn intangible instead of taking the brunt force.

"Hahaha! You humans are no match for me, for I'm Technus, master of - "

"We heard you the first time, windbag!" Cyborg yells, blasting his arm cannon. "Give it a rest already!"

The beam has way more impact than Robin's staff, slamming the ghost into the glass ceiling. Beast Boy shifts into a hawk and raises his talons at Technus, swiping him out of the window and throwing him down to the food court.

"Wow, it really has been a while," Technus says, his voice wavering. His teeth are slightly crooked, and his flaming white hair looks charred. "Plasmius can't blame me if I mess this up."

His little eyes start glowing when he spots Cyborg. Several lights flashed in his head - a technology-based body? Just what he needed. He rushes at the metal man, sinking into the prosthetic limbs with an evil cackle -

\- only to be rejected by the system.

"Gotta thank Danny for the warning," Cyborg says with a grin. "Ghosts really are more annoying than freaky, though..."

"DID SOMEONE SAY GHOSTS?!"

At that moment, Jack and Maddie Fenton blast into the mall, ectoplasmic guns and fishing rods at the ready. Danny and Tucker pull back behind one of the stores, ducking for cover as Technus begins taking control of a nearby computer store.

"Technus said Plasmius!" Danny yelled over the noise. "I was right! Vlad is back!"

"But didn't he vanish off the face of the earth? Literally?" Tucker yelled back.

"True..." Danny thinks hard, scratching his chin. "He's probably getting some sort of back up, then. Someone has been helping him cover it up. Too bad Technus is a moron."

Tucker smirks. "Ever since you got more free time, you've been getting a heck of a lot smarter. Well, the commotion seems to be dying down. You wanna go help your parents?" He points at Jack Fenton, who was tangled in his own fishing line, desperately trying to open a Fenton Thermos. "They seem a bit... Tied up."

Eyes narrowing, Danny dashes into the frenzy, sprinting over to his dad and snatching the thermos out of his hands. He aims it straight at Technus and fires, sucking him into the tiny thermos and capping it shut. At once, Danny feels the world become warmer, and he sighs, collapsing onto the ground with his thermos at his feet.

"We'll take this," Robin says, hand closing around the Fenton Thermos. He then helps Danny to his feet with a curt nod of approval.

Cyborg turns to Danny's mom, giving her a small smile. "Thanks for the help, Mrs. Fenton."

"Oh, no problem sweetheart," she replies. "I'm going to go help Jack. Why don't you meet up with the girls and go back to the tower?"

"I'll stay here with them," Robin says, nodding at Danny and Tucker. "Beast Boy, you go find the girls. Cyborg can take the Fentons."

"Sounds good," Cyborg says. He then waves at Tucker and Danny. "You know, for someone who is afraid of ghosts, Danny sure is pretty familiar with ghost stuff."

"Maybe he's a closet enthusiast like Raven," Beast Boy says, scratching his chin. "I'm pretty sure that they told me Technus was some sort of video game character, though. Why would they lie about a ghost?"

"They probably have something to hide," Robin says quietly. "Let's go."

* * *

Sam finds him and Tucker talking on the roof the next morning, and she was sure it's about ghosts because Danny has that dark look in his eyes - the one he used to wear whenever Vlad was mentioned. Frowning, she sits down beside them, crossing her arms and her legs.

"What's going on?" She asks. "Starfire explained what happened at the mall, and now the only people who aren't staring at us weird are your parents, Danny."

Danny's gaze had softened significantly whenever he saw her, but he still isn't smiling. "Hey, Sam," he greets, hanging his head. "We made a couple of mistakes. Technus attacked. And remember how we told Beast Boy that Technus was a video game character?"

"...oohhhhhh. That explains the "I KNOW YOU'RE HIDING SOMETHING" glare from Robin," she says, making air quotes. "But it's no big deal, right? Tomorrow's the ghost convention. One more night and we're out of here."

"I don't know about that," Tucker says, pulling out his PDA and showing the pictures to Sam. "I was able to siphon these pictures of Skulker from the security cameras. That gear is friggin' cool."

"Vlad is behind this, along with another source - one that Tucker and I can't seem to figure out," Danny says miserably. "They've definitely got something planned, and it probably isn't anything fun."

"And it's not like we can sneak off," Tucker adds. "The Fentons have decided to go sight seeing around town tomorrow."

Sam closes her eyes for a moment before saying, "If not finding out who the source is, at least try to find out who their target is."

"What do you mean?" Danny asks.

"Well, Vlad is in it for you, obviously." Sam rolls her eyes. "He's been trying to clone you for what? A lifetime? Anyway, you are Vlad's goal. So what do you think the source is after?"

"Well, he knows where I am, and he knows my identity," Danny says. "So if he's targeting someone, and not something..." Suddenly Danny's eyes go wide.

"No way," Tucker breathes. "He's after - "

"The Teen Titans," Danny groans, falling back onto the cement. "And you guys said it can't get any worse."


	5. Background Checks

**Sorry, ditched the story, wasn't my intention, okay down to it.**

**I fiddled with the earlier chapters, so if you want, reread. If not, don't. The plot's the same anyway. It's all good.**

**If you got any questions or frustrations or anything you wanna fangirl about, be my guest.**

**~Blaze**

* * *

Danny's keeping a large distance between himself and Skulker as he follows the large metal ghost, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He thinks about getting glasses right then as the blob of silver seems to be getting further away; his vision is slightly blurrier than usual, and his eyes are burning with tears as he flies even though he isn't facing the sun. It's probably because he hasn't flown this fast in a long time. Skulker is using his rocket jets, and it is hard to tail him and stay invisible at the same time.

"Are you still on his trail, Danny? You know I can't stall for you for more than ten minutes," Tucker says through his phone. Danny presses it against his ear tightly, hoping he won't drop it.

"Yeah," Danny says. "Tell them I'm helping some old lady cross the street. I haven't used that excuse in months."

"Will do. But Robin's offering to look for you, and I think your parents are inclined to agree. Should I tell him you're always zoning out and wandering off by yourself all the time? I think that's more believable."

Danny rolls his eyes. "That's a blow to my pride, but as long as he's distracted, I don't care, okay?"

"Fine. Sam says be careful and don't die."

"No promises."

He hangs up, slipping his phone into his hazmat suit before looking up.

Skulker isn't there.

Dread. Dread fills his stomach, his eyes and hears and his lungs, and he immediately shoots forward, desperate to get away. "Oh no," he mutters, his eyes going wide. "Don't tell me - "

He gets body slammed before he can finish his sentence. Danny goes flying, blinded by the sudden impact. The pain only comes whenever he flies through a window and he hits hard carpet. Vaguely, he thanks whatever's out there that he managed to fly through an abandoned building.

"It's been a while, whelp," Skulker says.

White. Hot. Searing. Burning. Pain. Electricity spreads through his skin and bursts every nerve in his body, and if it weren't for the fact that his ribs were completely, utterly broken Danny would've been able to get out of this. All of a sudden he's screaming and crying and Skulker's hand is closing over his throat so, so slowly, and everything is slowly fading into -

All at once it stops, and Danny's on the ground coughing up neon green blood and spit, his eyes seeing sparks. He writhes on the floor, grabbing at his throat, choking on the blood that he managed to swallow.

"It's a shame, really," Skulker sighs, and Danny can hear him stomping closer. "To think that it took me less than a minute to get you to bleed. My, you've lost touch, haven't you?"

"You knew," Danny chokes out, forcing himself up by his arms. "You knew I'd follow you."

Skulker grabs him by his hair, and Danny lets out another yelp. "Of course I did," he whispers. "I told you, don't you remember? I said I'd be back for your pellets." He swipes out a vial, scraping it against Danny's chest. When he opens his eyes, the vial is filled with green blood - his blood. "That warning down in the archives room was for you, Phantom. Not for your friend."

He dumps Danny unceremoniously onto the floor, and Danny cringes, trying to get back on his feet again. "Why are you - How are you still working for Plasmius?" He forces out, trying to steady his breathing. "No… who's Plasmius working for?"

"I've got a new boss," Skulker mutters. "Vlad is involved, but he does not give me orders. Not directly. This boss of mine… he's not as kind, let me tell you."

At once, Danny feels the warmth of his healing abilities envelope his body. He's about to change back, the warm rings around his body becoming more and more prevalent. "Who is he…"

"It seems you're running out of time, boy," Skulker says quietly as Danny reverts to his human form. "But I suppose I can leave you with a name.

"He refers to himself as Slade. And he is not an enemy you want to cross paths with. Let this be a warning for you, as well as your other friends."

It doesn't take long for Danny to be fully restored to health, but Skulker is long gone, too far to sense, to follow. Dejectedly, Danny gets ready to leave, allowing his body to grow colder as he transforms into Phantom once more -

"Wait." Danny sees it - a page on the ground, no doubt a piece of a file from Robin's archive room. Frowning, he picks it up, scanning the words.

"The… the Disasteroid? But why… " Danny trails off, folding the page and dropping it into his pocket.

"I don't have time. I've gotta get back before they think I'm ditching on purpose."

About ten minutes later, Danny finds Tucker and Sam at the city arcade, and they rush to meet him halfway, Sam placing her hands on his cheeks.

"Danny… your eyes are still green," she whispers, closing his eyelids.

"How long was I gone?" He asks quietly, leaning his weight against a game console. Tucker shrugs, pulling his PDA out of his pocket.

"About… fifteen minutes. Not long enough to cause any suspicion." He raises an eyebrow. "What happened? You're pale as a - I mean, you look terrible."

Danny rolls his eyes. "A lot. Too much. Skulker was a lot more helpful than I expected. Look, I'll tell you later. Right now I'll challenge you to a Doom Crashers duel."

Sam looks like she wasn't too happy with it, but Tucker's already dragging Danny towards the next aisle. With a sigh, she follows, pounding a fist into her palm.

* * *

Robin is reading through his files and folders, making connections and trashing others. Skulker. Technus. The Ghost Convention. Plasmius. He has pieces, and he knows he's missing some and forgetting others. His only lead is a fifteen year old teenager, but it doesn't make sense - how exactly did Danny Fenton fit into this?

He knows Danny's harboring a secret. The looped videos in the security system, the convenient disappearances - he just can't figure out the why. Why is Danny going through so many hoops to hide where he is all the time? Why does he pretend he doesn't know anything about ghosts? Why these secrets, these unnecessary lengths?

Whatever they are, he will figure it out. Right now, his main priority is the oncoming attack.

Ever since Technus's slip up, Robin has researched enough about Vlad Plasmius to know that the guy is an arrogant scumbag. 500 billion dollars? And the entire world under his rule? Nonsense. And it's obvious that Vlad isn't working alone - he's a wanted criminal. He wouldn't be able to keep his head under radar this long without someone getting suspicious unless someone is covering for him.

Slade is involved. There is no other explanation. Who else knew all of the hows and whats of Jump City? But what exactly is he planning? Is he trying to sabotage the convention? If so, why and how?

Robin runs his fingers through his hair in irritation. He's dancing in circles again with questions, and he doesn't have much time to solve all of them right now. His only promising piece of the puzzle is the youngest son of the Fenton family, but that's a barrier Robin doesn't want to cross. Why did everything have to be so complicated?!

"What do you mean by dancing in circles, Robin? You're still sitting in your seat."

He jumps, startled out of his chair. Only then does he realize he's been screaming his frustrations out loud. He turns to the door to see a floating Starfire, and he takes a breath, not even realizing that he had stopped breathing.

"You scared me, Star," he sighs, leaving his seat and scratching his head. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Perhaps I should walk like a human from now on?" She says with a smile. "I saw your light on. It is past the middle of the night. Is something wrong?"

Robin considers brushing her off, but after seeing her hopeful expression he couldn't surface any motivation to fight. "I'm... Worried. About the ghost convention. There could possibly be an attack, and this whole thing might be a lot bigger than we imagined."

"It will be okay, Robin," she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We are a team. We will not fail to protect what we choose to protect. And we have all of those ghost heroes at the convention. They will assist us as well." Starfire gently lands on her feet, bringing Robin into a side hug. Her one hand wraps around his waist. "It will be okay. Do not worry."

Robin grumbles, partly because she didn't give him the answer he wanted, partly because of the ever growing heat spreading over his face. Nevertheless, he returns the hug.

"If you say so."

When Robin finally promises to retire for the night, Starfire leaves, taking the warmth along with her. As he's leaving the room, however, he runs head first into another person.

"Sorry, Mrs. Fenton," he says quickly, helping her to her feet. "That was my fault."

"No problem, sweetie. I was just getting back from the lab. Thanks for allowing us to use it; we've learned so much from your friend."

Of course," Robin says. Suddenly he blinks, a thought striking him almost immediately. "I, uh… if it isn't too much to ask…"

"Go on, I won't bite," Maddie says with a smile.

"Can you tell me more about your son?"

Maddie Fenton stared at him with curious eyes. "You want to know more about Danny?"

"Y-yeah," Robin says quickly, scratching his head. He hadn't planned this through well. "It's just that he seems a little lost, and I wanted to know if there was anything wrong."

Nothing's wrong, I can assure you," Maddie replies with a smile. "He's just a little more distant than most, and he seems to carry a lot on his shoulders… but he has proven to me that he can take care of himself, and that's all that matters." She tilts her head thoughtfully, biting her lip. "It's easy to tell if he's hurting, but he'll never talk about it, which worries me. He'd come home late all the time ever since high school started. Even Jack was worried for a long time, breaking his phone whenever Danny missed curfew. His grades started slipping, he would sometimes skip classes… I guess it was a phase, though. After all of the ghost attacks subsided, his head has cleared out. He's been a lot better."

"Do you think he was bothered by the ghost attacks?" Robin asks.

"At first, that's what I thought too," Maddie replies, shaking her head. "But then I started seeing Jasmine begin to accept ghost hunting. Danny started borrowing our hazmat suits and gave them all to his friends once. After a lot of convincing, we finally believed him whenever he told us that all of us parents were abducted by ghosts, and that he had rallied up all of the kids in school to get us out of there." She giggles. "We saw so much bravery in him after that. Sometimes I'd overhear him talking about Phantom or some of the other ghosts that would torment Amity Park."

"Hmmm…" Robin puts a hand on his chin, his eyebrows knitting together. That contradicted everything Danny had said before about hating ghosts. "Did he seem to have any enemies at all? Someone he hated, or - "

At once, Maddie's eyes narrow into a dark scowl, and Robin can feel the hatred that seemed to emanate from her skin. "Vlad Masters," she says quietly, "was a man that Danny had never gotten along with. Jack and I were best friends with the man in college. At first I thought it was because he was a creep, but..." She closes her eyes and took a breath. "He turned out to be some sort of monster - Vlad Plasmius, or the worst type of ghost human ever created. He was all over the news after he shamed himself in front of the entire world. I can't believe we trusted him."

"I'm sorry," Robin mumbles, the gears in his head turning. "I shouldn't have - "

"It's fine," Maddie says. "I'm glad to get it off of my chest. I sometimes wonder if Danny knew about his identity, considering the amount of disgust he showed towards that man whenever he was over. Sometimes I wonder if Vlad ever hurt him because of it..." She trails off.

"Thank you," Robin says, clearing his throat. "I… I think it's late. We should really go back."

"What was the sudden curiosity?" She asked, wiping her hands.

Robin pauses, eyeing her with a serious frown before turning towards the door. He wonders if he should tell her that he suspects her son, that he thinks he's come to a conclusion about Danny Fenton that he'd rather have not reached.

Instead, he smiles, turning on his heel.

"Nothing too important, Mrs. Fenton. Good night."


	6. Smooth Moves

Danny straightens his bowtie as he stares at his own form in the mirror, his eyes darting between himself and Sam's reflection. "Are you sure this looks okay?"

"You look fine, Danny. Geez. I never took you for someone who was fussy about their appearance."

"I'm not," he replies, immediately turning towards his suitcase. He picks it up off the bed with ease, holding it tightly in one hand. "I just want to look normal."

"Well, it hasn't worked so far," Sam snorts, plopping down in front of him on his bed, lacing his free fingers with hers. She massages the back of his hand with her thumb, working out the tension between his knuckles. "Just one more day, Danny. Maybe we'll stay here for the night, but after that we're gone."

"But what about Skulker? What about Vlad and… and Slade?" Danny tastes the name. He finds he doesn't like it. "This is so much bigger than just saving my identity, Sam. What the heck are they planning?"

Sam meets his gaze. "Danny," she says, standing to meet his height, "your responsibility is protecting Amity Park. Sure, you did save the planet once - I'm not demeaning your efforts or anything," she clarifies with an apologetic look when she sees his frown. "But this is Jump City. This place is for the Teen Titans to protect. You should leave it to them."

"But I - "

"I know," she interrupts. "I know you're involved. And maybe I'm saying this because I don't want you to get hurt, but… until it comes to a point where they physically can't take down Slade or whoever on their own, you stay put."

Danny makes an unintelligent sound from his throat, partly from frustration, partly from defeat. There's a little bit of a strained staring contest that proceeds between the two of them before he sighs, hanging his head.

"Fine," he murmurs.

"Good," Sam says with a smirk, sneaking a quick kiss on his cheek. "Now let's go before your mom gets the wrong idea."

Danny's ears start to burn. "What - Sam!" He cries, following her out of the room.

Starfire waits for them on the bottom floor, all smiles and cheer. "Hello, friends! Are you ready for the convention? I'm sure it will be filled with fun!"

"You seem to be the only one who thinks that," Danny replies with a nervous smile, glancing at Robin. Boy Wonder is currently shoveling Starfire's mush of burned oatmeal into his mouth, too angry and irritable to care about the taste. His gaze flits over to Danny and it stays there.

Danny swallows hard, unsure how to react.

A part of him wonders if it's safer to just _tell_ Robin about his identity. To come clean and ultimately just wash away the bad blood between them. At least that would clear any suspicion the Teen Titans have. They'd be more focused on this… Slade guy if they weren't so caught up with -

Wait.

Danny takes a deep breath (which doesn't go unnoticed by Robin's masked eyes). Maybe that's it. Maybe that's the whole part of Slade's or Vlad's plan - they want the Teen Titans to be distracted by Danny so that this evil plot can carry on without interruptions. So then… if he just…

But the risks are too high. He doesn't know Robin or the others well enough to predict their reaction. And if it ends up with loaded guns and other things, he will definitely regret it. So what's the safest move? Why does this have to be so darn confusing?!

Of course, before he can even ask Sam whether or not it's a good idea, an excited pair of Fentons come waltzing in with a crash, Jazz's rather unamused expression following close behind.

"Hello, kids!" Maddie Fenton shouts. "You ready to roll? The convention starts in just a couple hours! We better head on into the RV in fifteen, so get eating and get going!"

"Whoo hoo!" Cyborg cheers. "Let's go!"

Robin grumbles something incoherent, drops his finished bowl into the sink, and heads out with Starfire in tow.

"This had better not be boring," Raven says quietly. She flashes her eyes at Danny before briskly making her way to the door, grabbing Beast Boy by the collar and dragging him away from the play station. "Hey," Beast Boy protests, but even he seems too interested in the idea of a ghost convention to care about finishing his game.

Danny and Sam decide to just grab a couple energy bars and head out. But before they make it to the main hall, Danny stops.

"Wait. Where's Tucker?"

* * *

"You don't have to look so pissed off, Danny."

"I'm _not_."

"Yeah, clearly, since Robin is currently dancing with your date."

Danny sighs, leaning back against the punch table. "Come on, Tuck, you know he isn't doing that just to be nice. He's trying to leech information off of her. That's all."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Tucker replies. He straightens his own suit jacket and smiles at Danny. "She's at least better at lying than you are."

Apparently, Tucker was busy hacking Robin's files last night, looking for information about Slade - which is why he didn't show up for breakfast that morning. Danny had to give him his last energy bar just to get the guy to sit up straight. "It was completely unnecessary," Tucker later told him when they both arrived at the convention. "Slade was always the front page of every news website. Guy's a psycho terrorist. Threatened to bomb the city so many times just to mess with the Titans. He's even worse than Masters, dude."

The dad weight inside Danny's stomach grew ever present after that.

Tucker and Danny eyed the whole place wearily. The circular hall that looked reminiscent of a church, the ceiling at least seven stories above them; the twinkling lights, the tables, the platform where people were dancing and socializing; the podium on the stage, where the opening speech was given. There was a huge chandelier about thirty or forty feet above their heads, the crystals bouncing light in all directions. This place was beautifully dressed for trouble, especially with so many ghost hunters involved.

"Wait. Is that the XTreme Ghostbreakers?" Tucker asks, pointing to the man and woman dressed in neon green athletic gear. They've chained in the last couple years; they still have those goofy grins on their faces, but their weaponry looks ten times as threatening. "And that's - "

" - The Groovy Gang. Yeah." Danny snorts. "A recipe for disaster, I know."

"I have no idea how last year's ghost convention went so well," Tucker says. "Are you still planning on solving this whole big issue about Slade, Danny? Because I don't think that'll be easy with all these loaded ghost weapons around - even if they do suck at their job as much as they did before."

"Sam told me to sit this one out," Danny admits, trying to swallow the temptation to complain about her advice. "Even though I'm involved, she says that if I throw myself into the fray I could end up making things worse."

"Yeah…" Tucker shrugs. "I mean, considering you've, like, disappeared for a year, your ghost fighting abilities are probably total crap. She's right."

"I really wish she wasn't so much better at this than I am."

They both watch her dance around with a suited up Robin, a pretty smile on her face. She looks rather nice in her purple gown, and every time she spins Danny's stomach does a flip. He averts his gaze, trying to keep himself from going insane. His eyes land on Starfire, who's rocking out in a glittery pink dress, giggling loudly as Cyborg gently takes her around the room.

"You think Raven would murder me if I ask her for one dance?" Tucker asks. Danny shrugs. "Go for it," he says. "This is a public event, after all. The only person she's obligated to kill for that is Beast Boy."

"True," Tucker says, and with that he walks off.

Danny decides he may as well check out the exhibitions on the second floor, seeing as he looked pretty pathetic standing alone in a crowd of mingling people. He heads up the marble steps, following the signs until he reaches the huge balcony with a bunch of posters and smart looking people explaining their research to equally enthusiastic listeners. Many of the displays are very detailed with information. Some have written journals on the theory of the manifestation of ghosts. Other have full ectoplasm analyses and its usefulness in certain experiments. Danny finds himself rather interested, and before he knows it, an hour has passed when he makes it pretty far into the maze of scientific research. It's funny, how much of this stuff he's seen in real life. Some of the ghosts he has fought are recorded and even interacted with, by the looks of it. Someone's been trying to give the Box Ghost psychological therapy, much to Danny's amusement. There are so many charged ecto guns and other weapons, radiators, ecto filters, even more efficient versions of the Fenton thermos. Prototypes of the Fenton RV have been designed on blueprints. He sees his parents' names on almost every single one of these presentations, and he starts to wonder just how modest his family is when it comes to their fame, despite their eccentricity.

One display almost immediately catches his attention, and he whirls around and stares.

"_The Disappearance of the Ghost Boy - Danny Phantom?_" Danny reads incredulously. He laughs, reading as much as he can. There are so many pictures of him on his escapades from random public security cameras, paragraphs on all of his abilities, his personality, detailed analyses as to why he is an anomaly compared to other ghost. Even Dani Phantom, his "cousin", is shown flying around in random parts of the world. Danny is almost creeped out by the amount of stalking this person must of done until he reads the contributors.

"Of course, he murmurs. "The Guys in White are the only ones with this much access. But isn't all of this technically illegal?"

He continues to read until he feels someone's eyes on him. Danny turns, and he finds Robin watching him with a leveled stare.

"Oh, uh," Danny says. "Hey."

"Surprised to see you here," Robin says. "I thought you said you weren't interested in ghosts."

"I don't know," Danny vaguely replies. "It's just weird to see my parents' names all over the place. Where's Sam? She was with you earlier, wasn't she?"

"She's with Beast Boy. They got into some weird conversation about being ultra-recycling vegetarianism. I wasn't really…"

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

Danny hopes that it's enough to change the subject, but Robin isn't about to let it go. "Listen, Danny." His expression swiftly changes to something more serious. "I need ask you some questions, and you have to tell me the truth."

"Oh. Okay," Danny says, trying not to look guilty. "Ask away."

"What is your relation with Vlad Masters?"

Danny raises his eyebrows, clearly caught off guard. So Robin knows that Vlad's involved. But does he know about Slade? "He… he was my dad's old friend from college. And I'm sure you know him as Vlad Plasmius, too. Tried to make a profit off of saving the world, and all that. Why?"

"No. I'm not asking who he is." Robin steps forward, cutting into Danny's personal space. "I want to know how you're involved with him. All of those ghosts that you know so much about are somehow, "coincidentally" involved with Plasmius. And I know enough about your history with the man to understand that you two are more than just acquaintances. You're a part of this whole scheme somehow. I'm sure you know something about all of these ghost attacks that are happening. You're hiding something from the rest of us. Now _tell me what you know_."

Yep. Okay. Coming clean definitely seemed like the best idea right now. Considering Danny couldn't just invisible himself out of this one, there was no turning back. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see a red eye gazing at the two - Cyborg is watching the whole scene. This trap was planned by the looks of it. Robin had wanted to confront Danny from the beginning by separating him from his friends.

Nice one, Boy Wonder.

"Okay. Okay," Danny insists, putting his hands up in surrender. "Fine. I'll tell you everything. But I'm not Vlad's buddy, or anything, if that's what you think." Danny spits the name; it's dredging up bad memories from a long time ago. "Vlad was… he was awful. A, a creep, a fruitloop. He was obsessed with my mother, and when he "lost" the chance to have her because of a failed ectoplasmic experiment, he decided to use his newfound powers to kill my dad." Robin's expression changes to one of complete surprise, and Danny nods. "Yeah. exactly. Psycho nearly got away with it, too, if I hadn't stepped in and tried to stop him as best as I could. Dad was always clueless about it. He thought they were the best of friends. Since I saw through it all I could at least get in the way. After all, mom wouldn't react well if she knew that Vlad was attempting murder."

"Then why didn't you tell them in the first place?" Robin pressed. "What did he have against you? Your parents are ghost hunters. It wouldn't have been so far fetched of a story that they wouldn't believe you. Maybe I can believe that he hated your father, but that doesn't explain why in all of these reports, you were somehow always his target. I've dredged up reports of him kidnapping you, sabotaging your trip with your mother, shooting you during a campaign for becoming the mayor of Amity Park. What made him change his target from your dad to you?"

Danny suddenly becomes very, very quiet. Robin doesn't take it well. "Answer me!" He growls. "Or I swear you're going to regret it. What kept you from telling people from the get go? Did he threaten you? Are you two in some sort of agreement now? Is he forcing you to help him? _Tell me!_"

It's insane, how well Robin is able to keep his anger at such a low volume where no one could hear. But it still packed just as much force as it would've if he were screaming. Danny flinches, looking at the ground. "It's… It's because… I - "

_BOOM._

There's a silence as a huge shockwave shakes the whole hall, and Danny barely keeps himself on his feet. Two seconds later a whole riot begins, with screams and the glow of green filling the air as ectobeams bounce around the walls.

"Impeccable timing," Robin grumbles. "You," he says to Danny, "are coming with me."

They both dash downstairs to the stage - where all hell is breaking loose. It seems that out of nowhere a gigantic dragon has been set loose on the crowd, wreaking havoc on the rather surprised group of guests. Only a handful of people remain in the room, thankfully. Those who have ectoguns on them have already jumped into action; Danny sees his mom and dad trying to take care of the situation with the other fighters while Jazz, Sam, and Tucker usher people out of the doors. The Guys in White have seemingly jumped out of nowhere, attacking the beast with spectacular cannons with little effect.

"TITANS! GO!" Robin bellows over the fray. Raven and Beast Boy fly into action and attack the blue dragon directly, while Starfire and Cyborg support from the ground with beams and blasts of energy.

"I suppose you know this ghost too," Robin spits. Danny smiles and shrugs apologetically.

"The amulet around the dragon's neck," he says. "It turns the wearer into a monster whenever they're furious. She's actually a nice person when she isn't angry. I suppose someone set her off."

Robin scowls at him one last time before getting ready to pounce. "Go for the amulet!" He shouts up at Raven. But before he can join in, there's a shriek as Starfire gets hit by a ricocheting ecto beam. "Star!" Cyborg shouts, reaching towards her, but his momentary distraction causes him to get thrown back by a whip of the dragon's tail.

"Not good," Danny murmurs. "At this rate… She's going to tear down the whole place!"

"Tell me this isn't even slightly your doing," Robin sneers. "Tell me you aren't involved in this. Do you see how many people are in danger right now? Does this mean nothing to you?!"

"I told you - this isn't my fault!" Danny shouts back over the sound of chaos. "I didn't ask for this! I haven't even seen Vlad since he disappeared off of the face of the Earth - _literally_!" Danny grabs Robin's arm. "There's a reason I've been his target for so long. There's a reason he's back and wants his revenge! There's a reason he's using me as a distraction to turn your suspicion onto me instead of onto him! It's because I - "

He's interrupted by a resounding _crack_, and Robin and Danny watch in horror as the ginormous chandelier's chain snaps from the force of a GIW ectoblast. Raven tries to jump for it, but she gets swatted like a fly by the dragon's claws.

"Oh, no," Robin breathes, swallowing as it begins to fall.

There's no time to think, no time to care about the consequences. All Danny sees is his parents underneath the shadow of the metal weight, and Danny does the one thing he knows he can do. With a battle cry and some reassurance that no one is watching him, Danny goes ghost and launches himself at the chandelier with all the speed he can muster. The second his hand touches the metal he allows the cold feeling of intangibility take over.

"Please work, please work!" He murmurs, shutting his eyes tight. He can't watch. He can't do it. He just - needs to focus -

He feels the weight of the chandelier disappear, and he pulls it up, suspending it in midair. He cracks an eye open - no one is hurt. His family is safe. He wants to sigh with relief, but it's taking up all of his energy to keep this thing in the air, so he tightens his grip and lifts as much as he can. Once the shock washes over and dissipates, everyone clears out and away from the giant piece of metal. After he's sure no one's underneath, Danny gently places the chandelier onto the ballroom floor, sweat dribbling down his face.

A terrible roar reverberates around the room. Danny tenses, ready to take on the dragon, but Raven is already there, yanking the amulet off of the beast's neck. Slowly, the ghost returns to her normal height, and after taking the amulet from Raven with a grateful, almost teary smile, she disappears in a wisp of green smoke.

Danny's ears are ringing from the adrenaline rush, so he doesn't hear the initial loud gasps and offended shouts. It's only when he hears his name that he freezes, suddenly very aware that he isn't invisible right now.

"That's - it's Phantom!"

"Danny Phantom!"

"Oh my God - Invis-o-bill!"

"He's BACK!"

Danny finds himself turning slowly, making eye contact with Tucker, who has his jaw touching the floor as he gapes like a fish. Sam is busy repeatedly smacking her head against the palm of her hand, mouthing something that looks like "_stupid, stupid, stupid_" repeatedly. He then whirls over at Robin, who looks like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to figure out how to react to this turn of events.

Oh, _crud._

* * *

**_Jesus hell sorry this whole story is total bullshit and it's been so long since I've updated._**

**I just realized how freaking circumstantial this whole plot is. "Oh, hey, uh, we just so happened to see the Teen Titans at a pizza place, and with no warning or anything they're like, "hey, stay at our place!" 'cause that's normal!" Ehhh, whatever. It's fanfiction, not a published work. I have a right to be a little unrealistic.**

**Yeah, I don't know when I'll be updating next. Maybe in a year? I want to get this done before graduation, but the hell if that happens. I can't make promises.**

**Screw it. Review. Favorite. Whatever.**

**~Blaze**


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